According to Animal Aid, sixty-seven horses have died as a result of racing at the Grand National since 2000, and countless others have been injured. Urge ITV to drop its support and stop broadcasting the event, in which horses are forced to race to their death.
At over 4 gruelling miles, the headline Grand National race is one of the longest and most hazardous in the world – the high-risk factor makes it famous and infamous. Almost every year, horses lose their lives during the three-day “festival,” sustaining horrific and often fatal injuries at notorious fences such as The Chair, Becher’s Brook, and the Canal Turn. When horses are forced to jump these excessively high obstacles, tremendous pressure is put on their slender front legs, leading to broken limbs, necks, and backs.
When horses get too old or stop performing well enough to be profitable, they’re often sent to slaughter. RTÉ’s documentary Horses: making a killing revealed that equines were hit with pipes until they collapsed at Ireland’s major horse slaughterhouse. Of those killed, 71% were thoroughbreds from the racing industry, many of whom had been raced in the UK. Some were killed just days after their last race; then, their body parts were sold to the meat trade in Europe. PETA has documented how some individuals are killed as far away as South Korea.
Take Action
By broadcasting and promoting the Grand National, ITV is complicit in animal abuse and suffering. Please take a stand for horses today and ask the channel not to broadcast this cruel event.